If it shall turn out as you say, I will
give you the letter and send you to the King, and not otherwise."

Joan said with fervor:

"Now God be thanked, these waiting days are almost done. In nine
days you will fetch me the letter."

Already the people of Vaucouleurs had given her a horse and had
armed and equipped her as a soldier. She got no chance to try the
horse and see if she could ride it, for her great first duty was to
abide at her post and lift up the hopes and spirits of all who would
come to talk with her, and prepare them to help in the rescue and
regeneration of the kingdom. This occupied every waking moment
she had. But it was no matter. There was nothing she could not
learn--and in the briefest time, too. Her horse would find this out
in the first hour. Meantime the brothers and I took the horse in turn
and began to learn to ride. And we had teaching in the use of the
sword and other arms also.

On the 20th Joan called her small army together--the two knights
and her two brothers and me--for a private council of war. No, it
was not a council, that is not the right name, for she did not
consult with us, she merely gave us orders. She mapped out the
course she would travel toward the King, and did it like a person
perfectly versed in geography; and this itinerary of daily marches
was so arranged as to avoid here and there peculiarly dangerous
regions by flank movements--which showed that she knew her
political geography as intimately as she knew her physical
geography; yet she had never had a day's schooling, of course, and
was without education. I was astonished, butg thought her Voices
must have taught her. But upon reflection I saw that this was not
so. By her references to what this and that and the other per4son
had told her, I perceived that she had been diligently questioning
those crowds of visiting strangers, and that out of them she had
patiently dug all this mass of invaluable knowledge. The two
knights were filled with wonder at her good sense and sagacity.

She commanded us to make preparations to travel by night and
sleep by day in concealment, as almost the whole of our long
journey would be through the enemy's country.

Also, she commanded that we should keep the date of our
departure a secret, since she meant to get away unobserved.
Otherwise we should be sent off with a grand demonstration which
would advertise us to the enemy, and we should be ambushed and
captured somewhere. Finally she said:

"Nothing remains, now, but that I confide to you the date of our
departure, so that you may make all needful preparation in time,
leaving nothing to be done in haste and badly at the last moment.
We march the 23d, at eleven of the clock at night."

Then we were dismissed. The two knights were startled--yes, and
troubled; and the Sieur Bertrand said:

"Even if the governor shall really furnish the letter and the escort,
he still may not do it in time to meet the date she has chosen. Then
how can she venture to name that date? It is a great risk--a great
risk to select and decide upon the date, in this state of uncertainty.

I said:

"Since she has named the 23d, we may trust her. The Voices have
told her, I think. We shall do best to obey."

We did obey. Joan's parents were notified to come before the 23d,
but prudence forbade that they be told why this limit was named.

All day, the 23d, she glanced up wistfully whenever new bodies of
strangers entered the house, but her parents did not appear. Still
she was not discouraged, but hoped on. But when night fell at last,
her hopes perished, and the tears came; however, she dashed them
away, and said:

"It was to be so, no doubt; no doubt it was so ordered; I must bear
it, and will."

De Metz tried to comfort her by saying:

"The governor sends no word; it may be that they will come
to-morrow, and--"

He got no further, for she interrupted him, saying:

"To what good end? We start at eleven to-night."

And it was so. At ten the governor came, with his guard and arms,
with horses and equipment for me and for the brothers, and gave
Joan a letter to the King.